Berkeley Township is a
TownshipA township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...
in
Ocean County-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile . There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km²...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population had increased to a record high of 41,255.
Berkeley Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the
New Jersey LegislatureThe New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on March 31, 1875, from portions of Dover Township (now
Toms River TownshipToms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
). Sections of the township were taken to form
Seaside ParkSeaside Park is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,579. Seaside Park is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.The first inhabitants...
(March 3, 1898),
Seaside HeightsSeaside Heights is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,887. Seaside Heights is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
(February 6, 1913),
BeachwoodBeachwood is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population increased to a record high of 11,045....
(March 22, 1917),
Ocean GateOcean Gate is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,011.Ocean Gate was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1918, from portions of Berkeley Township...
(February 28, 1918)
Pine BeachPine Beach is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population increased to a record high of 2,127....
(February 26, 1925),
South Toms RiverSouth Toms River is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 3,684....
(March 28, 1927) and
Island BeachIsland Beach was a borough that existed in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, from 1933 to 1965.Island Beach was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 23, 1933, from portions of Berkeley Township, Lacey Township and Ocean Township. The referendum that...
(June 23, 1933, reabsorbed into Berkeley Township in 1965).
The resort community of Pinewald.
Army officer named Lt. Edward Farrow began buying up woodland with the idea of building a retirement community for former Army and Navy officers.
Farrow built a railroad station, shops and even a resort hotel called The Pines with the idea of attracting people. But only 11 people ever built houses in what Farrow called "Barnegat Park," and eventually he went bankrupt.
In the 1920s Benjamin Sangor purchased the area. The New York and Miami developer imagined a vast and luxurious resort town catering to wealthy urban vacationers. Between 1928 and 1929, about 8,000 lots were sold in Pinewald, a "new-type, residential, recreational city-of-the sea-and-pines." It was to contain a golf course, recreation facilities, and estate homes.
The developers immediately began construction of the Pinewald pavilion and pier at the end of Butler Avenue. The Royal Pines Hotel, a $ 1.175 million investment facing Crystal Lake, was built on the site of an earlier hotel dating back to the days of Barnegat Park. It was the focal point of the new community. The hotel was also used as an asylum, then later a nursing home which changed ownerships. It's now the Crytal Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation center.
Mystery surrounds the former hotel. It was constructed by Russian architect W. Oltar-Jevsky in the early 1920s.
Al CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
may have frequented its halls, perhaps even venturing beneath the lake in tunnels especially designed for smuggling alcohol during the
ProhibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. One newspaper article interviewed an unidentified man who claimed that "in the early 1930s the then Royal Pines Hotel was frequented by society's elite who, for $1.90 a drink, consumed prohibition liquor under the watchful eye of men who had guns strapped under their coats."
In 1929, during the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the resort community went bankrupt. Now, development is starting off slowly.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the township has a total area of 55.8 square miles (144.5 km²), of which, 42.9 square miles (111.1 km²) of it is land and 12.9 square miles (33.4 km²) of it (23.12%) is water.
The Township is located in the central part of Ocean County along the Atlantic Ocean and
Barnegat BayBarnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is a long barrier peninsula, as well as by the north end of Long Beach Island...
, which is part of the
Intracoastal WaterwayThe Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
.
Approximately 72% of the Townships land area is within the federally designated
New Jersey Pinelands National ReserveNew Jersey Pinelands National Reserve preserves the New Jersey Pine Barrens.The Pinelands is a unique location of historic villages and berry farms amid the vast oak-pine forests , extensive wetlands, and diverse species of plants and animals of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion...
. Approximately 38% is within the State's Pineland Area, which is within the Pinelands National Reserve.
Toms River TownshipToms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...
forms the northern border of the Township, Cedar Creek and
Lacey TownshipLacey Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey and is considered part of the Jersey Shore region. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population had increased to a record high of 27,644...
form the Township's southern border. The barrier island, on which South Seaside Park and
Island Beach State ParkIsland Beach State Park is a New Jersey state park located just south of Seaside Park on the Barnegat Peninsula in Berkeley Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry...
are situated, is the Township's eastern boundary.
Holiday City-BerkeleyHoliday City-Berkeley is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Berkeley Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 13,884....
(2000 Census population of 13,884),
Holiday City SouthHoliday City South is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Berkeley Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 4,047.-Geography:Holiday City South is located at ....
(4,047),
Holiday HeightsHoliday Heights is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Berkeley Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, in the United States...
(2,389) and
Silver RidgeSilver Ridge is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Berkeley Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 1,211.-Geography:...
(1,311) are
census-designated placeA census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
s and unincorporated areas located within Berkeley Township.
BayvilleLocated at the Northernmost section of the Pine Barrens, and at exit '80' on the Garden State Parkway, Bayville is an unincorporated area within Berkeley Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08721. As of the United States...
is an unincorporated area located within the Township.
Also, the township completely surrounds
Ocean GateOcean Gate is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,011.Ocean Gate was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1918, from portions of Berkeley Township...
.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010 there were 41,255 people residing in the township. There were 23,818 housing units.
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 39,991 people, 19,828 households, and 12,174 families residing in the township. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 932.3 people per square mile (359.9/km²). There were 22,288 housing units at an average density of 519.6 per square mile (200.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.10% White, 1.30% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.
There were 19,828 households out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 29.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.52.
In the township the population was spread out with 11.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 14.7% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 52.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $32,134, and the median income for a family was $40,208. Males had a median income of $41,643 versus $28,640 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the township was $22,198. About 3.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Since July 1, 1983, Berkeley Township has been governed under the
Mayor-CouncilThe Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law, provides for New Jersey municipalities to adopt a Mayor-Council government.This form of government provides for election of a mayor and five, seven, or nine council members...
system of municipal government under the
Faulkner ActThe Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H...
. The Township is governed by a Mayor who is elected for a four-year term and a seven-member Council elected on a staggered basis for terms of four years, with the respective terms commencing on January 1; the Mayor and the three at-large seats come up for election every four years, with the four ward seats up for election two years later.
, the
MayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Berkeley Township is Jason J. Varano (
DThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, term of office ends December 31, 2011). Members of the Berkeley Township Committee are Council President Karen Davis (Ward 1;
RThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, 2013), Council Vice President Carmen F. Amato, Jr. (Ward 2; R, 2013), Nathan A. Abbe (at-large; D, 2011), Peter J. Mustardo (at-large; D, 2011), Judy Noonan (Ward 2; R, 2013), Frances R. Siddons (Ward 4; R, 2013) and Anne M. Wolff (at-large; D, 2011).
Federal, state and county representation
Berkeley Township is in the 3rd Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district. The legislative district was kept unchanged by the
New Jersey Apportionment CommissionThe New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for apportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the districts are to be in use for the legislative elections...
based on the results of the 2010 Census.
Education
The
Berkeley Township School DistrictThe Berkeley Township School District is a community public school district that is responsible for the education of children in kindergarten through sixth grade from Berkeley Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States....
serves public school students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the
National Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
) are
Bayville School (Grades k-4; 433 students),
H & M Potter School (K-4; 449),
Clara B. Worth School (K-4; 555) and
Berkeley Township Elementary School (5&6; 529).
Students in public school for grades 7 through 12 attend the schools of the
Central Regional School DistrictThe Central Regional School District is a regional school district in Ocean County, New Jersey, which serves students in grades 7 through 12 from the municipalities of Berkeley Township , Island Heights , Ocean Gate , Seaside Heights and Seaside Park .As of the 2008-09 school year, the district's...
, which serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township,
Island HeightsIsland Heights is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,673....
,
Ocean GateOcean Gate is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 2,011.Ocean Gate was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1918, from portions of Berkeley Township...
,
Seaside HeightsSeaside Heights is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,887. Seaside Heights is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
and
Seaside ParkSeaside Park is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,579. Seaside Park is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.The first inhabitants...
. The total student population in the district is approximately 2,400, instructed by 200 staff members. The schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the
National Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
) are
Central Regional Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (673 students) and
Central Regional High SchoolCentral Regional High School is a four-year public high school located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States operating as part of the Central Regional School District...
for grades 9 - 12 (1,436 students).
Transportation
The
Garden State ParkwayThe Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
is the primary access route, with one exit (constructed in March 2007) in the Township. U.S. Route 9 runs through the eastern-middle part of the municipality while Route 35 passes through briefly and ends at the park road for
Island Beach State ParkIsland Beach State Park is a New Jersey state park located just south of Seaside Park on the Barnegat Peninsula in Berkeley Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry...
.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Berkeley Township include:
- Megan McCafferty
Megan Fitzmorris McCafferty is an American author known for The New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series of young-adult novels published between 2001 and 2009...
(born 1973), author best known for her series of books about Jessica DarlingThe Jessica Darling books are a The New York Times bestselling series of five young adult novels by Megan McCafferty, published between 2001 and 2009. Told from the diary-style perspective of character Jessica Darling, the series chronicles her misadventures through high school, college, and beyond...
, a witty teenage heroine.
External links